The present invention relates in general to the design and construction of a mask to be warn during activities in water. More specifically, one form of the present invention defines a diving mask for facilitating under water vision. Although the present invention was developed for use in diving masks, certain applications may be outside of this field.
A conventional diving mask fits over the diver's face to encompass the eyes and often the nose. During use, a typical diving mask forms a nearly watertight seal with the diver's face. A quantity of water remains in the mask and is often used by the diver to clear the mask's viewing pane, which has a tendency to fog. A common limitation associated with many mask designs is that the water retained in the mask for clearing the fog away tends to irritate the diver's face. It is well known that divers will use the water to defog the mask, however the water generally lays against the diver's face and can cause vision and skin irritation. The facial irritation problems are compounded when the water is not fresh water and/or contains pollutants.
Even with a variety of earlier mask designs, there remains a need for a diving mask to retain a defogging liquid within the mask for defogging purposes, but to retain it in such a way so as to prevent irritation to the facial skin and eyes. The present invention satisfies this need in a novel and unobvious way.